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Alocasia wentii is a New Guinea highland species of the Arum family, but the plants sold under this name are usually hybrids (often Alocasia cuprea with A. odora) with large purple, shield-shaped leaves. Grow them warm, humid and bright, out of direct sun, with consistently moist but not waterlogged soil.
Alocasia wentii is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae, native to the highlands of New Guinea.
Plants sold in the ornamental trade as Alocasia wentii, commonly known as hardy elephant's ear, appear to be hybrids of other Alocasia species rather than the true species from New Guinea. The true Alocasia wentii is a diminute species with dark green, sagittate leaves, while cultivated plants have large peltate purple leaves.
The purple-leaved plants appear to be hybrids of Alocasia cuprea and possibly Alocasia odora, are polyploid and seemingly sterile. They may be the same as Alocasia 'Uhinki', an artificial hybrid between these species created pre-1897 in the nursery of the Chantrier brothers in Mortefontaine, France. Alocasia 'Uhinki' was subsequently misspelled "Alocasia whinkii" in nursery catalogues, possibly resulting in its confusion with the similar-sounding Alocasia wentii.
Alocasia azlanii · Alocasia baginda · Alocasia brancifolia · Cunjevoi · Chinese taro · Alocasia fornicata · Alocasia heterophylla · Alocasia infernalis · Alocasia lauterbachiana · Alocasia longiloba · Giant taro · Alocasia melo
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Alocasia wentii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
